Paul Mania

German organist, composer, and conductor (born 1883 in Tschepolowicz, County Brieg, Silesia – died August 1, 1935 in Obernigk, Silesia) The son of a farmer who did not share his interest in music, Mania grew up in Silesia. Apprenticed to a merchant in Breslau, he secretly attended the conservatory in the same city. Thereupon his father made him move to Cologne to work in a grocery. Soon, however, Mania focused solely on his music, working as a pianist, organist, and choir director. He conducted, e.g., the Kölner Männerchor, Solinger Männergesangverein, Kölner Mania Frauenchor, and, in particular, the Kölner Männergesangverein. As a composer, Mania wrote many well-known songs about wine and the Rhine, but also choral songs. Among his best-known pieces are "lm Rolandsbogen" (about an inn of that name), "Zu Rüdesheim in der Drosselgass'," "Rheintreue" (after a poem by Josef Schlegel), and the "Marsch der Kölner Prinzengarde."